CLPRA Hears from Central New York Lake District

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua Lake Protection and Rehabilitation Agency held its monthly meeting on Wednesday and heard from an individual familiar with fighting invasive weeds on other lakes in Central New York State.

According to the Post-Journal, Dennis Fagan from Waneta Lamoka Lake Protection District provided details on how a taxing district was set up years ago to fund their community’s effort to tackle the invasive Eurasian milfoil.

Waneta and Lamoka Lakes are surrounded by two counties and four towns. According to the newspaper article, a district was formed after different methods were used, but ultimately failed, to treat the weed problems in the lake.

The Waneta-Lamoka District taxes only lakefront property owners or those who are connected to some aspect of the lake. Residents with more than 80 feet of property bordering one of the lakes would pay $120 per year in taxes. Those with less than 80 feet would pay $90 per year. Those who had some level of access would pay $60, and those property owners with property adjoining wetlands connected to the lake would pay $18 per year.

The Waneta-Lamoka District was the first entity in the state to receive a five-year permit to treat weeds with herbicides. After studying the lakes, crews determined each lake only needed treated once every three years.

The CLPRA was formed by the Chautauqua County Legislature to investigate whether it would be worth it to set up a taxing district for residents living in municipalities around the lake in order to raise funding for to address issues like invasive weeds and algal blooms.